Hello, new to the site, looks like a lot of amazing info!! My query is in making my music into CD or digital(MP3) format. I compose/record my own music using basic equipment(Roland XP-50 Workstation/Keyboard, Alesis Midiverb EFX processor, Yamaha MT-50 4Track, MiniDisc for field recordings, traditional/world, acoustic instruments, and my computer(laptop) with free Acid software for chopping and rearranging, looping sounds), I use these, record sounds onto computer, from there to 4track, keyboard to 4track, instruments to 4track, using EFX, then from 4track I mix it all down to my stereo as a finished song on cassette. That's basically the only way I can do it and have been for awhile now, no real contact or help in these tiny towns. So I was wondering how to go from CASSETTE to CD, stereo to a CD recorder, or stereo to computer, to create my own CDR Demos to get my music out there, out of the isolated state it's in. So what's better, sound quality wise, which way to go, scary that sometimes recording into line-in on computer doesn't seem to sound good. Help please!!
Making digital or CD copies of music from Cassette
- Thread starter suling
- Start date
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
The main thing I can think of to improve on your scenario,
is that at the next-to-last step, as you're mixing from your Yamaha cassett 4-tracker, [instead of cassette], use a simple stereo RCA-to-1/8" stereo adapter cable, and route the line-out signal of the MT-50 to the stereo LINE IN of the computer soundcard, and record with your recording software, to WAV files. Then burn your CDs from the WAV files.
By doing it this way, you mixdown directly from your multitracker into computer WAV files, and you avoid having to record back to CD from a 'mixdown' cassette, which, technically, would cause a degradation of the sound quality.
-Using a standalone CDR recorder would be much the same as using a cassette deck to mixdown to.
-If your recordings made with your computer soundcard are distorted, make sure you're plugged into LINE IN, not MIC IN, and then beyond that, you could decrease the input signal, by bringing down the master fader on the MT-50.
-If your recording software has level/peak meters, then setting recording levels should be relatively easy. If your software has no level meters, then you'll have to experiment with setting levels, for best overall sound.
is that at the next-to-last step, as you're mixing from your Yamaha cassett 4-tracker, [instead of cassette], use a simple stereo RCA-to-1/8" stereo adapter cable, and route the line-out signal of the MT-50 to the stereo LINE IN of the computer soundcard, and record with your recording software, to WAV files. Then burn your CDs from the WAV files.
By doing it this way, you mixdown directly from your multitracker into computer WAV files, and you avoid having to record back to CD from a 'mixdown' cassette, which, technically, would cause a degradation of the sound quality.
-Using a standalone CDR recorder would be much the same as using a cassette deck to mixdown to.
-If your recordings made with your computer soundcard are distorted, make sure you're plugged into LINE IN, not MIC IN, and then beyond that, you could decrease the input signal, by bringing down the master fader on the MT-50.
-If your recording software has level/peak meters, then setting recording levels should be relatively easy. If your software has no level meters, then you'll have to experiment with setting levels, for best overall sound.
Mikeblacktop
New member
A Reel Person
It's Too Funky in Here!!!
Well,...
[1]- Yes. Technically, you may expect a [computer wav or] CDR recording to accurately preserve the sound of the music, as it sounds, coming off the tape, whether that's described as "warm", or whatever else. The "cd" recording process should accurately sound like the source, with little or no coloration of the sound.
[2]- Yes. Technically, if you're mixing down from a multitrack source, like a cassette 4-tracker, and your ultimate goal is to have a CDR of your results, then it does make sense to mixdown from the multitracker, directly into computer wav files, or a standalone CDR recorder, using direct connection [4-track to 'puter/CDR], with the proper adapter cable, and skip the "mixing down to tape" step, [as mentioned in the original post],...
-unless you really want the sound coloration of the intermediate mixdown tape, [the "warmth"], to be part of the final CDR version of your mixdown, aesthetically speaking.
==========
Speaking for myself,...
I'll record my music on 4-track cassette Portastudio or 8-track open reel, then mix down directly to my computer [soundcard], and record directly to WAV files, using MAGIX Music Studio v5 software, [recording wav files to the 'puter hard disc].
Then, I can arrange the WAV files into play lists, and record CDs from that, using Adaptec Easy CD Creator software. This software is now known as Roxio Easy CD Creator.
There are a great many software packages that will do this type of recording and CD layout and creation, and some that will do both primary sound recording, and CD layout and burning, all in one software package.
CDs and CDRs are so universal now, that I'll hardly ever record mixdowns to tape, any more, unless there's a specific reason to do so.
[1]- Yes. Technically, you may expect a [computer wav or] CDR recording to accurately preserve the sound of the music, as it sounds, coming off the tape, whether that's described as "warm", or whatever else. The "cd" recording process should accurately sound like the source, with little or no coloration of the sound.
[2]- Yes. Technically, if you're mixing down from a multitrack source, like a cassette 4-tracker, and your ultimate goal is to have a CDR of your results, then it does make sense to mixdown from the multitracker, directly into computer wav files, or a standalone CDR recorder, using direct connection [4-track to 'puter/CDR], with the proper adapter cable, and skip the "mixing down to tape" step, [as mentioned in the original post],...
-unless you really want the sound coloration of the intermediate mixdown tape, [the "warmth"], to be part of the final CDR version of your mixdown, aesthetically speaking.
==========
Speaking for myself,...
I'll record my music on 4-track cassette Portastudio or 8-track open reel, then mix down directly to my computer [soundcard], and record directly to WAV files, using MAGIX Music Studio v5 software, [recording wav files to the 'puter hard disc].
Then, I can arrange the WAV files into play lists, and record CDs from that, using Adaptec Easy CD Creator software. This software is now known as Roxio Easy CD Creator.
There are a great many software packages that will do this type of recording and CD layout and creation, and some that will do both primary sound recording, and CD layout and burning, all in one software package.
CDs and CDRs are so universal now, that I'll hardly ever record mixdowns to tape, any more, unless there's a specific reason to do so.